Written for Russian Roulette over on the HPFC Forums! Prompt: Friendship.

Also written for The Treasure Hunt, where my prompt to write about a Gryffindor.

Also written for the Competition for Hardcore Marauder Fans, for the prompt: Write about one or all of the Marauder's/' thoughts/feelings when Remus' Furry Little Problem is revealed.

Something was wrong with Remus. We didn't mean that in the usual way, either. We knew his Aunt was sick, and we were all keeping our hopes up for the woman, but Sirius had made the point that she'd had Dragon Pox now for about a year. We knew it was more serious in adults than in children, but twelve months seemed a little... Extensive.

The latest story he'd told, well, nothing seemed wrong with it, it just... Didn't feel good. We just couldn't put our finger on what was wrong.

"Where's Remus?" Mary had asked at breakfast, her orange curls bouncing as she looked between the three of us. It was a Saturday morning which was when Remus and Mary usually shared revision notes. They were the bookish type, something that had never appealed to me.

"His Grandmother, Betty, broke her hip yesterday. One of her own spells backfired. Apparently it doesn't look good," Sirius told her, and Lily, who was also listening in. He was almost repeating Remus' words exactly.

"He's got one hell of a clumsy family," Mary commented, and we couldn't help but agree. It was Lily who noticed.

"Wait, he went to her funeral last year," Lily said, her forehead knitted together in confusion. A silence fell over us all.

"That was probably his other grandmother," I commented, trying to salvage Remus' dignity. Our friend wasn't a liar, after all.

"No, it was definitely Betty," Lily replied. "He said she died when she fell off a broomstick. I'm sure his other grandmother's a Muggle." That was when we knew she was right. We didn't say anything; we tried to shake her observations off as misunderstandings. But we couldn't hide it. The suspicion that had been clawing at our minds suddenly broke out and settled over us all. He was lying, which meant something was wrong, which meant it was our duty as friends to find out what.

"Lily was right, wasn't she?" Peter asked when we were back in our dormitory. I nodded woefully as we sighed collectively.

"Well we have to do something. What if he's ill and he hasn't told us?" Sirius commented. He had a point.

"How would we know?" Peter asked.

"Does he go away regularly? If he does it might coincide with hospital appointments or something. If we can figure that out, well, it's a start," I added, and they both agreed.

So we set to work around the calendar, doing our best to remember when Remus was away and noting it down. A pattern very quickly emerged.

"He's away once every four weeks," Sirius commented.

There was a pause. When I understood, it hit me like a kick to the stomach and made me feel sick. I stood and walked over to my trunk, where Living Dangerously: The Beasts are Everywhere lay. I turned to the section I wanted and began to read.

"Rather than watching them turn into a fully fledged werewolf once a month, you're more likely to notice strange disappearances with even stranger explanations. The kids will only get more elaborate with time. When they return, they will likely be pallid and fatigued, with a greater fondness for rare steaks. Before they disappear, their temper is likely to get the better of them, and they will become irritated easily." When I finished, we remained in silence for a while, digesting the truth.

"That's it," Sirius commented, gravel in his voice.

Remus Lupin was a werewolf.

I wasn't sure what my reaction was, all I felt was shock. I didn't know what to think. The image of the boy and the image of the beast just couldn't come together to form one person in my mind.

"They say it's really painful, the transformation," Peter commented.

"They completely lose themselves, don't they?" Sirius asked.

"It must be lonely," I added.

There was another silence.

"Maybe should find away to help him," Sirius said, and Peter and I nodded.

"Yeah, we should. Remus isn't a monster. He's our friend," I said, and it was agreed.